


Hit Me With Your Best Shots

by Pebblesinthelake



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Archery, Clint drinks way too much caffeine, Clumsy Clint Barton, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues, Small Amounts of Pinig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pebblesinthelake/pseuds/Pebblesinthelake
Summary: As a barista, Bucky has witnessed a lot of crazy customers and their creations. He has made drinks with so much syrup that there was barely room for coffee, and gotten orders with so many modifications that it had to print on multiple stickers. None, however, even came close to the strangeness of Too Much Caffeine guy.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34
Collections: Winterhawk Wonderland - 2020 edition!





	Hit Me With Your Best Shots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noxnthea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noxnthea/gifts).



> A gift for Fosterthechildren for the Winterhawk Wonderland gift exchange. I had so much fun writing this, thank you for the broader prompt of any AU. I've wanted to write a coffeeshop AU featuring caffeine addict Clint for a while.
> 
> Thank you so much to CruciatusForeplay for the beta read.

As a barista, Bucky has witnessed a lot of crazy customers and their creations. He has made drinks with so much syrup that there was barely room for coffee, and gotten orders with so many modifications that it had to print on multiple stickers. None, however, even came close to the strangeness of Too Much Caffeine guy.

The first time he came into the cafe it was close to closing. Bucky was alone on the floor, trying to get some cleaning done. At the sound of the door, Bucky looked up to see a giant of a man falling through the door. It looked as though he tripped over his own feet but managed to catch himself before he truly fell. He had a bow and a quiver full of arrows slung around his back and when Bucky looked a little closer he saw pointy ears sticking up from his head. On the way from the door to the register, the strange man must have had at least three near accidents. 

If Bucky was really being honest, the thing about Too Much Caffeine guy that truly caught his attention, was how gorgeous he was. The man was taller than Steve and almost as muscular. His blonde hair and blue eyes might have looked boring on any other face, but his slightly crooked nose and the band-aids covering his face gave it plenty of personality. 

A few years ago Bucky probably would have flirted with him, maybe even ignored the rules and written his number on a cup. But ever since returning from Afghanistan he had lost more than just most of the mobility of his left arm. It had become extremely difficult for him to get out of his own head, and he tended to be a little more timid. 

That first night, they barely interacted beyond the standard exchange between a customer and barista. Despite the late hour, Too Much Caffeine guy earned his name by ordering a six shot latte. Bucky did his best not to make a face and simply rang him up.

“Can I get a name for the order?"

“Is it not obvious,” the man gestured to his outfit. “I’m Legolas.”

With a snort Bucky typed the name in and went to make the drink. While he waited “Legolas” pulled out his phone and quietly fiddled with it until Bucky called his name. After collecting his drink he left, nearly spilling his latte at the door when he stumbled in almost exactly the same spot as earlier.

\-------------------

A few nights later he came in again, this time in a normal outfit, sans bow and with human shaped ears. During the walk from the door to the register he kept his head lowered and walked slowly, as if he was deep in thought. When he arrived at the register and looked up to see Bucky a brilliant smile spread across his face. Bucky felt his breath catch before coming to his senses and stuttering out a quick “How can I help you?” 

“Could I get twelve shots of blonde espresso over ice in a large cup, please.”

It took Bucky’s brain a good 30 seconds to process the request, and despite his practice remaining passive to customers’ whims, he knew his face showed how incredulous he was. Without thinking he blurted the next sentence and knew he should feel embarrassed as the words left his mouth.

“Are you okay?”

The man looked at him blankly and said nothing. After a moment Bucky recovered slightly and decided to try a teasing.

“I just think I might be required to have you sign a disclaimer before i can serve you that much caffeine.”

“Well we can’t all have unlimited access to coffee all day. I have to get it all in one go!” He answered, matching Bucky’s tone.

Bucky rolled his eyes and began to type in the order when he heard the door to the back room open. He glanced over to see his coworker Natasha walking out and quickly schooled his face. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his shift being teased about his heart eyes for this man.

“HA! My coffee is on you tonight!”

Bucky looked back at the shout to see Too Much Caffeine guy pointing at Natasha. He had a smug smile on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. Bucky’s eyes caught on the man’s flexing muscles before Natasha’s snort pulled his attention away.

“Could you please calm down,” Natasha asked as she walked to the register.

“You made the bet! I went the whole day without tripping or hurting myself or spilling anything. You owe me coffee.”

Natasha looked down at the screen to see the order. She made a face that showed all her judgement of the order.

“Oh my god, Clint you’re going to give yourself a heart attack.”

“What is with you guys? You work in a coffee shop, you probably consume more caffeine than I do when all is said and done.”

“I doubt that.” Bucky muttered. 

Too Much Caffeine guy, or Clint apparently, made an affronted noise and stalked to the other side of the cafe. Natasha shook her head with amusement while she took care of Clint’s order. As Bucky returned to his cleaning he glanced over to see the other two talking, though he couldn’t hear what they were saying. She must have said something funny because Clint threw his head back and let loose a shout of laughter. Breath caught in Bucky’s chest for what felt like the hundredth time since the other man had come into the store.

When Clint left, Bucky stared after him until he heard a snort from the other end of the bar. He looked over at Natasha to see her with a knowing look on her face. It was probably best to not even start a conversation when she looked like that, so Bucky went back to his cleaning. 

\-----------------

Over the next several weeks Clint came into the cafe every night, usually fairly late. He kept up his routine of ordering way too much caffeine, and occasionally spilling it. Whenever he did, Bucky would just sigh and start remaking the drink. After the first few times of Bucky refusing to let him pay for the remade drink, Clint stopped trying to pay and just threw some extra money in the tip jar.

Each time he came in, Bucky felt a fluttering in his stomach. Each time Clint smiled, Bucky stopped breathing for a second or two. Sometimes Bucky would still write Legolas on the cup. It always seemed like Clint might be flirting with him, with sweet smiles and laughing even when Bucky’s jokes seemed kinda dumb, and he tried his best to return the interest. Bucky’s not too sure he ever succeeded because he can’t help thinking Clint seemed disappointed every time he left.

Some nights Natasha was on the floor with Bucky when Clint came in. From their interactions it seemed that Natasha and Clint were roommates and had been since college. They were good friends, but Clint always included Bucky in their conversations. Those nights always ended with Natasha watching Bucky with that same annoying, knowing look on her face.

“You know if you asked him out he would definitely say yes.”

Natasha was staring at him after Clint walked out the door. Rather than come up with a response, Bucky began diligently cleaning the espresso machine.

After a few minutes, during which Bucky worked hard to ignore her, Natasha sighed and walked into the back room. He didn’t know how to explain that he didn’t think he could ask Clint on a date. Sure Clint might enjoy flirting and laughing in the cafe when all Bucky was to him was the man making his coffee, but if Clint really got to know him and all his problems, there was no way Clint would still smile at him with his whole face in the way that took Bucky’s breath away. Bucky didn’t think he could handle it if he had to see Clint’s face morphed into a look of pity. No, Bucky would much rather just pine from afar.

\-----------------

The following Saturday as Bucky walked into work he saw some sort of festival being set up in the park across the street. When he looked a little closer he saw people in renaissance clothing running around the area. Finally he noticed the sign announcing the Faerie Festival in town for the weekend. 

Bucky hummed in appreciation of all the artsy beautiful decorations and went into work. Strangely the day was actually pretty slow, it seemed everyone was getting their food and drinks from the festival. Towards the beginning of his shift, Natasha caught Bucky staring at the festivities.

“It’s actually pretty cool, you should go check it out on your break.”

Usually gatherings weren’t his thing, but his break would be late in the day and Natasha wouldn’t suggest it if she didn’t think it was a good idea. So after Bucky clocked out for his break, he wandered across the street into all the bright colors. The majority of people seemed to be clumped around a fenced off area, every now and then a cheer would erupt from the crowd.

Bucky wandered over and found an open space right up against the fence to watch whatever act was happening. A large man was dressed in a green tunic and tights, doing acrobatics and letting loose arrow after arrow. He moved with grace and every arrow hit a bullseye. While staring in wonder Bucky caught a glimpse of the man’s face, his eyes widening in recognition. 

Bucky struggled to reconcile the way this man moved with confidence and ease, with the accident-prone customer who drank way too much caffeine. But when a series of flips brought the performer closer and their eyes met, there was no denying that it was Clint. Upon seeing Bucky, Clint’s smile got even wider and he winked before launching back into his performance. He jumped and flipped and dazzled the crowd while he hit bullseye after bullseye. 

Unable to do anything else, Bucky stayed rooted where he was and marveled at the abilities of the other man. He stayed there staring in awe until the performance was over and most of the crowd had left. After taking a few bows, Clint made a beeline for Bucky. 

“Impressed? It’s okay, you can admit that I’m amazing.”

“I guess I’ll have to start writing ‘Robin Hood’ on your cup now.”

Clint laughed, “What my real name isn’t good enough?”

Bucky wasn’t sure how to respond, it didn’t help that Clint’s bright eyes and beautiful smile were occupying most of his thoughts. He was saved from having to think of something to say when his alarm went off to signal the approaching end of his break.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. I need to get back to work.”

With that he turned and fled before anything else could be said. When he got back to the cafe and clocked in he walked out onto the floor to see an exasperated Natasha. Knowing that she had to have heard about what just happened, Bucky quickly found something to do other than talk about it. The next couple minutes passed in silence. Bucky could feel Natasha’s eyes on him, but he refused to look up from his task.

She sighed and walked over to set a piece of paper on the counter next to him.

“He said I could give this to you. He doesn’t have any expectations, but please give yourself this chance to be happy.”

Looking down, Bucky saw a phone number in Natasha’s neat writing. As Natasha walked away, he thought back over the past month or so. Clint was gorgeous and funny and he seemed to like Bucky. Every day he came in to order horrifying amounts of caffeine and spent his time joking and laughing. But Bucky wasn’t sure that Clint would continue to like the real him. Would Clint really want to put up with the mood swings and bouts of depression? Not to mention the awful moment, when he would eventually see the mangled mess of scars covering Bucky’s left shoulder and arm. It seemed more likely Clint would react with pity rather than disgust, but both options were terrible.

Then Bucky thought about the fluttering he felt every time Clint smiled at him and the warmth that bloomed in his chest whenever Clint tripped into the cafe. As he sorted through the pastries, double checking the dates, Bucky reflected on all the times Clint made him laugh. Clint’s visits were always the highlight of the night. Often Bucky found himself looking forward to seeing the other man and just waiting for the minute he walked through the door. 

Natasha was right, Bucky deserved to be happy. Even with the possibility that everything could go wrong, Bucky knew he could be happy with Clint. 

So with a deep breath, he sent off that first “Hey”. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note, 12 blonde shots of espresso has 1,020 mg of caffeine. For reference, a can of monster has 86 mg and a normal grande latte at Starbucks has 150 mg.


End file.
